On Tuesday, I wrote about how I struggle to find the balance between assisting my son out of love and interfering with my son’s development because I assume he can’t do something.
When I was growing up, words were important to me. I equated the ability to speak well and write well with being intelligent. This was long before the theory of multiple intelligences was popularized.
Many autistics struggle with spoken language. Because they don’t/can’t speak, people assume they are less intelligent. That is why, as part of Autism Acceptance Month, advocates are spreading this message: presume competence.
Here are some excellent books/articles written by autistics about being treated as less or completely discounted because they don’t use spoken language:
How Can I Talk if My Lips Don’t Move: Inside My Autistic Mind by Tito Rajarshi Mukhopadhyay
“Autism Speaks, I Want to Say” by Amy Sequenzia
An autistic plea for love and tolerance on CNN iReport
I would also recommend that you read “The 7 Tenets for Presuming Competence.”
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I’m blogging about autism acceptance as part of the April A to Z Challenge.
I am so glad people are beginning to understand that intelligence can be displayed In different ways.
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thanks for these sources:) I think that from my experience with my son entering the school system that sadly more teachers need to learn the rule “presume competence” when dealing with children. It always feels like an up hill battle with the simplest question I have for them is “Did you ask him?”
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